There are four avenues to membership in the Deaf community:
audio logical, political, linguistic and social:

1. Audio logical refers to actual loss of hearing ability.

2. Political refers to the potential ability to exert influence on matters,
which directly affect the Deaf community on a local, provincial, or national
level.

3. Linguistic refers to the ability to understand and use Sign Language
fluently.

4. Social refers to the ability to participate in social events of the
Deaf community.

5. Hearing people, e.g. parents, relatives, professionals or friends,
can be accepted as members of the Deaf community only if they have an
appropriate attitude towards the Deaf community. This means they can enter
into the Deaf community via three avenues: political, linguistic, and
social.

6. The Deaf community considers itself as a linguistic/cultural minority,
not only in South Africa but in other countries too.